Susannah Temple-Richards is back in Aidensfield after serving her prison sentence. One day an old "friend" from prison, Maureen Bristow, is on her doorstep and asks if she could stay for a couple of days. But Susannah does not know that Maureen has broken out of prison and needs a place to stay until she can get out of the country with her boyfriend. When she finds out she gets into real danger. Gina has a new boyfriend, and she gets really sad when he leaves her for an older woman. Claude Greengrass has bought an old bureau at an auction believing it to be full of valuables. It is not - or at least he cannot find any.

Frances Elliott has just moved to Aidensfield, but is not very popular with her neighbours because she very much keeps herself to herself. When Joyce Jowett wants to talk to her about a sale she is organizing in aid of the Aidensfield toddler group she suspects that Miss Elliott is hiding a baby. Jowett also puts Aunt Peggy on the jumble stall of the sale without asking her first. Peggy rather wants so sell pictures of local sights - with a "small" share for herself of course to cover the costs. PC Walker has passed his sergeant's exam and has been accepted at a special training course with an automatic promotion. But he still has his doubts because it means that he will have to leave his colleagues and friends and especially a certain pretty district nurse with blonde hair and blue eyes.